How to search for the meaning of life.
In order to best progress through life,
It would be ideal to work out what the meaning of life is,
Or what the goal of life is,
Or whether or not there is even such a thing to obtain.
Because if we don't know where we're going,
Any actions we are taking could be putting us in the wrong direction.
So therefore it seems like it is the best action to first determine that goal.
Unfortunately,
This search will likely take time,
A lot of time.
So in order to best facilitate that search,
Certain things need to be taken care of.
We need to ensure that our basic survival needs are met,
That we have the food,
Air,
Water,
And shelter necessary to survive.
And beyond the basic necessities of survival,
We need to have the time and opportunities to make that search.
So our first priority therefore must be to get functional.
Get ourselves in order.
Make sure that we are in a place that we are able to commit ourselves to the search.
From there,
We need to ensure that our brain is in the right state to undertake the search and maintain requirements of survival.
This could be done through exercise,
Meditation,
And education to ensure that we are in an optimal state.
This leads us to looking at removing,
Or at least limiting,
Intoxicants and toxic people from our lives.
If we are impaired,
We won't know when we have struck gold on an answer.
If the meaning,
Enlightenment,
Or attainment is predicated on a chemical,
Or the presence of someone else,
Or if it isn't self-sustaining,
Then it clearly isn't the true,
Or at least the full,
Answer.
So now we are looking at a state where we need to maintain functionality,
Need to survive,
Need to ensure a healthier life.
This includes removing stresses from our life,
As well as acting morally,
So that our actions cause as little interpersonal conflict as possible,
As such conflicts would detract from our ability to undertake our search.
So the question becomes,
How can we live such a life?
Clearly,
The answer is to instill personal discipline and to grow our willpower.
We need to have the ability to commit to our search when distractions abound.
To be able to say no when comfort,
Addiction,
Temptation,
And laziness strike.
We have to instill a life of discipline,
Or at least one that has the routines instilled that enable us to keep our mind,
Body,
And financial situations in a functional state.
This could be done through morning routines,
Paid coaches or guides,
Or with the support of like-minded people.
These structures will set us up,
Enabling us to be in a place to search for meaning.
Willpower goes hand in hand with discipline.
Willpower will give us the ability to say no to the bad things and yes to the good.
But how do we grow our will?
By challenging ourselves to grow.
By pushing through pain.
By setting goals and acting towards them.
By facing setbacks,
Regrouping,
And going again.
These goals can be set in the sporting arena,
Work,
Art,
Or any other part of life.
We just need to be careful not to let these goals take over as a life focus.
Attainment or not,
Their purpose is to instill will.
Will to maintain our life and thus enabling us to better our search.
So now the question becomes,
How are we going to know when we are on the right path?
How and where can we start that search?
Our time is limited,
So it's important that we act with the correct focus.
So start by reading and consuming the thoughts of great people.
Putting their thoughts into your brain and comparing them with your experience of reality.
Look towards the philosophers,
The leaders,
The religious icons,
And all of them,
Not just the ones you've grown up following.
Listen to those who have come before you.
Observe the young,
The old,
The old.
Those who have come before you.
Observe the young and old alike.
Talk and engage with them.
Let their wisdom into your mind.
We need to meditate,
To focus,
And detach to see things truly.
We need to be able to step back,
Detach,
To see the paradigms that we've been raised on that aren't necessarily correct.
It's just by chance that we were born into this place and this time,
With the gender and the ethnicities that we have.
Had any of these dimensions been different,
Our underlying thoughts,
Teachings,
Religions,
And worldviews would of course also be different.
Thus,
We need to step back and detach as much as possible to best commit to the search.
So this involves reading widely,
Meditating deeply,
Contemplating,
Ego detachment,
And a wide level of personal experience.
It's from this place that we start our search.
We follow the guidance of the great minds and we follow our detached intuitions.
First,
We set the grounds for our search,
Then we diligently commit to that search.
We live a disciplined life,
One that gives us the time,
Money,
Mental,
And physical capacities to search,
And then we begin.
There of course will be times where life throws us curveballs,
Where we face loss,
Setbacks,
And failure.
We need to acknowledge and accept these events as a part of life.
To embrace our new realities and contemplate on what we had,
What we lost,
And where we are now,
And what the entire process means.
We need to investigate the feelings that the event triggered and accept them.
And similarly,
When life goes well,
We need to accept it with equal detachment.
Sure,
Winning feels good,
But unless you've determined that winning or feeling good is the sole point of life,
The single-minded pursuit of winning may itself be a distraction from the search.
Finally,
There is something to be said about embracing the silence of your mind.
There is a risk of perpetually consuming more and more information.
Of course,
Consuming information is necessary to our search,
But there's an upper limit,
Both in terms of time and content.
If you leave yourself no time to think,
No silence for your own thoughts to fill,
Your search will at best be distracted and at worst misguided.
Therefore,
It's advisable to leave yourself with extended periods of silence in which to think and in which to contemplate.
It's from that place of silence that your search can start.
So now I invite you to sit with me in silence.
Set a timer and just observe what comes.
Your search for meaning begins now.
